Nearly New in Baku

Hi Ian!

Welcome to Expat.com and thanks for this introduction

Regards
Armand

would you bring a nine months old baby to live in baku?

thanks jazkell

Hi Jazkell,

Well, I presume you are working here, right? If so, then you would go through the same visa processing that I did. My daughter is 13 and I reckon there would be no difference if it is a 9 months old baby. Just be prepared for frustration. I wish I could be more positive.

Good luck! Ian.

im will not wroking in baku may husband working there and he want me go their also.Can you tell me about the life in baku?Does it scary to live in baku hope you can give me some idea about living in baku..

Thanks
Jazkell

Hi, thanks for getting back in touch. For my views about life in Baku, visit my blogsite here: exprats.blogspot.com/ Here you will find 4 posts about life in Baku.

Best regards
Ian

Hi Ian,

My family and I will move to Baku in the very near future.
Would it be possible to share some information on accommodation and the best place to stay. I'm looking to send the kids to TISA thus Stonepay sounds like the ideal choice for living. The only problem is I'm not sure of the rent being charged in that community and if it would be in my budget.
If you have an idea it would be appreciated if you pass this on.

I would like to know the negative side to living in Baku and what to look out for.

Much appreciated

Scott

Hi Scott,

First of all I am not sure how much one pays for accommodation at Stonepay but is your company not paying your accommodation anyway? I am a contractor and work for BP - it seems every European expat works for BP in one way or another - and I have a 2-bedroom flat which is about a 10-minute walk from BP's offices in the Hyatt complex. If you are on family status, your child will have no problem getting into TISA - my daughter is there, but before you come make sure you bring your son/daughter's latest school report with you.

Depending on where you stay in Baku, prices differ, but you will get a good 2-bedroomed flat for about 1,500 manat, about 1,200 pounds. But a word of warning, the majority of the apartment blocks are a bit antiquated and some are downright filthy. Many of the roads in and around the city are bloody awful and the pavements are not maintained. However, if you are working for/with BP you will only be shown flats approved by BP. But then if you are domiciled in Stonepay then you needn't worry about the quality of accommodation - it's fantastic.

BP also pay a per diem and an in-country travel allowance for me and my family. As for the standard of living, etc, well, it ain't cheap here. Everything is expensive. And there are many instances of expats being ripped off in supermarkets, taxis, barber shops - you name it. However, once you are here, people and colleagues will tell you where to go and how NOT to be ripped off! The weather, certainly in the summer, is fantastic, but very cold in the winter. The wind blows much of the time and sometimes it reaches gale force - that's why Baku is called the windy city. There are plenty of bars and eating places down town and the boulevard area down at the seaside is very pretty.

Lastly, you can view some of my short videos of Baku by going on YouTube and just type in ipoian. This will show my various YouTube videos.

Hope you settle in well.

Cheers,
Ian

Hi Ian,

Many thanks for the information provided.
The company will give me an allowance but I want to make sure this will cover the Stonepay community.
Would it be possible to ask around and possibly get a few figures for these houses?? It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

Scott

Hi Scott,

Well I did ask around today and one of my fellow expat colleagues, Silverio, will try to answer your questions about Stone Pay and costs.

He has kindly allowed me to pass on his e-mail. So please contact Silverio at: [email protected].

If there is anything else you need information on then please do not hesitate to ask.

Cheers
Ian

Hi Ian (kuanyin).
I'm new to this forum, and saw your interesting post. I will try to answer your question "who are Azeris?". Azeris are Caucasion turks who are most probably decendents of Khazar turks or Goyturks, who were living here some 4000-5000 years ago. Of course throughout the history they have mixed with different nations, and their language got assimilated too. They are the same Caucasions that Europeans originated from. You know that Whites/Europeans are called Caucasians formally. Historians/ archeologists found links between Azeri sculptures (or rock carvings in Gobustan) of thousands years of age and Scandinavian (viking) sculptures. But I think it does not really matter where one comes from or what is his/her ethnicity. We are living in a small world with mostly mix communities. In my understanding there are two nations in the world: (a) a nation of bad guys and (b) good guys, forget about the rest. By asking such questions you might create aggression/hatred/anger in locals towards you. So, my suggestion is don't fire the sensitive issues.
I hope the above was helpful. If you want, we can discuss this topic over a coffee one day.
By the way, I know Silverio Garcia too. His wife (who was my MBA student) introduced him to me. He has left Azerbaijan few days ago for London.
The ideal accommodation in downtown Baku will be around AZN 1500 per month specially designed for expats since it is unaffordable by most of the locals.

Cheers,
Ramin

Hi Scott,

I am looking for a job in Azerbaijan.
I am HVAC Engineer and have extensive oil&gas (+commercial & domestic buildings) experience.

Thanks.

Hello, well to be honest I could not help you here. If you wish to come to Azerbaijan and find employment as an HVAC Engineer, you would be better to do a web search on sites such as oilcareers. Try this:

http://www.oilcareers.com/regions/731/A … oblist.asp

You could also try Monster.com, etc. Sorry I cannot be much more help.

Ian

Hi Ian

My husband has been offered a job in Baku and we are thinking of moving there with my 3 year old daughter and son still to be born (though he will probably be about 4 months when I move there)
I tried to read your blog but it says it has been removed.
Please can you tell me how to find it?
Or maybe you can answer some questions about moving to Baku?

Thanks
Bronwen

Hi Bronwenh,

First of all congratulations that your husband has been offered a job here . Obviously you don't mention the nature of the job but if it is in the oil industry then he will find himself in a great working environment. I am in oil here, working in Baku, and yes it's great! But I cannot comment outside of my industry.

Life here is pretty laid back and, like everywhere else, there are pluses and minuses. The traffic is hell - for instance I would never drive a vehicle in this city - I hire a driver who takes me to work and back every day. I also have another driver who takes my daughter to school and back so that is fine. Baku is a big bustling city with about 2 million people crammed into it! When it comes to living accommodation you really have to search quite keenly to get a nice apartment. We have just moved into a new apartment in the city centre and it is a huge improvement on where we were before. If you come here I can advise you on the better parts of the city because there are some dire areas.

I have to tell you that prices here are high, in some cases, exorbitantly high. For instance the cheapest jar of peanut butter I have found is about $10.00 - can you believe that? The problem here is that most foodstuffs are imported and that's what pushes up the prices. However, utilities are cheap as is petrol. Also pharmacy products are very cheap!!

Entertainment-wise, yep, there are plenty of bars and clubs and various entertainment. Alcohol in the various bars vary depending on whether it's a 'Western-style' bar or a local bar. There are several great Western bars and most expats stick to them.

There are cheap and expensive clothes shops. Like everywhere else, if you want something different then you will pay through the nose. Prices in the clothes shops around where I live are on a par with the trendier areas of London!

That's about it. You can ready more about Azerbaijan on my blog: http://www.expats-exile.blogspot.com/ - I retitled the blog last week and this is maybe the reason you could not find it. Check it out anyway.

Anything else, then don't hesitate to ask.

Best wishes,
Ian

Ian (kuanyin), I cannot believe you live in Baku. Allow me to kindly remind you that you are not giving correct information and absolutely ignorant of the place. Yes, Baku can seem a big city to you if you came from a village. But come on, 2 million is nothing. I guess you have never been to large cities to compare Baku with. In Baku you can get from one edge to another just in 20 min maximum. I agree that people drive crazy here just like 80% of the world. You really made me laugh when you said most of the foodstuff imported and a jar of peanut butter is min $10. You must be kidding. I recently baught a Turkish-made peanut butter (250 gr) from "Planet" chain of markets (which is expensive than others) in downtown for AZN 1.15 (USD 1.45). In Azerbaijan we normally eat vegetables, fruits, meat, wheat (bread, noodles etc), chicken and egg. All these are 100% locally produced. Aze is the 1st country in the region and among CIS countries (except Uz) that has plenty fruits and vegetables. We even export to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Baltic countries.
Baku is a busy city. To some the locals may be a bit harsh, yet they are very welcomming and kind towards foreigners. That is why baku is full of foreign workers specifically in oil industry. The worldwide rule also applies here: "Don't mess with locals". That is the rule in every country. The central area of Baku is clean and beautiful, but when you go a bit farther to outskirt you will find it messy and dirty. It is true that to find a high quality clothing is not easy. But food is cheap compared to other countries. Here are the price list for some foodstuff: (the exchange rate is USD 1 = AZN 0.79)
- a loaf of bread - AZN 0.30
- egg  AZN 0.10
- a bottle of local wine AZN 2.35
- 1kg of fresh cow meat AZN 8
- 1 lt of local orange joice AZN 1.20
- a pint of local beer AZN 0.80
- a kg of local potato AZN 0.70
- a kg of local cucumber AZN 0.80

Other costs:
- bus fare (throughtout city) AZN 0.20
- underground fare AZN 0.15
- electricity AZN 0.06per KWt/H
- water AZN 0.30 per m^3
- natural gas AZN 0.10 per m^3
- metered taxi AZN 0.80 every km

I hope the above was helful.

Hi Ian

Thanks so much for the information, it was most helpful and your blog was very interesting.
My partner will be working in the oil industry as an engineer so I am glad to hear it is a good working environment.

I just have a few questions:

What would you say on average you spend on food a month in dollars?

How much is a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in the nice part of the city per month? I take it there are mainly apartments in Baku.

Once we know what is happening, I would really appreciate your input on good areas.
Are there any children's park around?

I have looked into schools so I know the costs involved, though I think the company may arrange schooling.

And one last thing for now, is it possible to get help with cleaning the house and looking after children and what would you say the costs are involved.

Thanks again for the info and I really appreciate your help.
Bronwen

Hi Bronwen,

Regarding food and liquids (milk, juice, water, etc) prices, it really depends on where you shop. There are tons of little ‘convenience' shops known as ‘markets' that sell all your basic household stuff, from fruit and vegetables to kitchen materials to alcohol to bread and frozen foods, etc, and these are relatively cheap but the quality of some of the items are questionable. But there are larger ‘supermarkets' - and these sell everything you need with a much wider choice. But these are not the hypermarkets we are used to at home, like ASDA and WallMart - they don't exist in Azerbaijan. Anyway, the so-called supermarkets scattered around town is where we do our shopping. You will get buy comfortably on about $200 - $250 per week but that does not include alcohol!! You will also have to pay your electricty and gas bills.

A 2 or 3 bedroomed apartment downtown Baku, where we live, costs anywhere between $2000 and $3000 a month. Again, it depends on what housing allowance your husband gets. We have a great apartment in the Fountain Square area (with all mod cons: wifi Internet, plasma TV, satellite TV, etc) and it is $2000 a month (company paid). As with most expats, I think you will be put up in a hotel for the first two weeks and a local property agent will take you around and show you a selection of apartments. You simply pick the one you like the best. Houses are out of the question. Yes, they are on the market, but at anywhere between $5,000 and $7,500 a month, just forget it!!

In the downtown area of the city there are plenty of little parks and places to walk. You also have the Boulevard area which is beautifully laid out with walkways and gardens and childrens play areas. There are also little cafes and picnic areas. This is down by the seaside.

Your children will most likely end up in TISA (tisa.az) which is where my daughter goes. It has a great reputation and the education is excellent. Again, this is covered in my employment package as I reckon it will be with your husband's.

Our property management company provides a cleaner who comes in twice a month and cleans the apartment from top to bottom: cost $32.00 a time. However, my wife does some dusting!! I am not sure about looking after the children but I am sure this can be arranged no problem.

There you have it. Feel free to ask anything else.

Best wishes,
Ian

I visited Ian's blog (from the above link). It is pity that all the articles there are ill-researched, bias and highly unethical. Ian (or kunayin) critisizes and tries to belittle Azerbaijan and Azeris, but he must not forget that he gets his bread and butter from Azerbaijan. How unthankful can you be, Ian? You cannot kick the one who feeds you. Or maybe it is common in your Britain or UK, whatever. In our country high level of morality and values do not tolerate such kind of insults. This is my final reminder. You better stop it Ian, before it is too late.

This is my reply to you and the last word on the matter. I am a well-travelled British expatriate who has either visited or worked in 34 countries around the world. Azerbaijan just happens to be another country. It isn't special. Just like all those other 33 different countries I have visited. As a Briton I believe in free speech, I was born and brought up in a free society and as far as Azerbaijan goes, I have never said anything derogatory about it. Anything I write is based on personal observation and not hearsay.
Yes, I can write with humour, it's part of my style, so try to appreciate that. I actually like Baku and my wife, who is ethnic Russian, loves it, so I certainly don't have a problem with it. My daughter likes being here, loves her school, her teachers, the shopping. She reads, writes and speaks fluent English and Russian! Try to lighten up, man, have I 'kicked' the government, your president, your police authorities, - no - I haven't because I respect the law. If anything, I like kicking Britain - read my blog of the 28th October 2010 or maybe you didn't go back that far.

I will not even begin to comment on morality and values.

My parting advice to you is, go to the UK for your next holiday, and then come back on this site and tell me what you think of it.

Pukka,
Ian

Hi Ian

I am sorry that my questions have attracted some negative attention, it was not my intention.

I have to say that I have found you very helpful and informative about expat life in Baku.
Yes you may have given your opinion on some topics and wondered why they do things like they do in Azerbaijan but I don't think you have been derogatory about azeri's or azerbiajan at all.

Actually after speaking to you and reading your blog, I feel much happier about moving to Baku and even a little excited.

My partner gets his contract next week so we will have to see what is included and what is not.

I was just wondering if you think it worth shipping any of our stuff over when we move or whether we should just get it there.
We live in Cape Town so it is quite far to ship from.
We may have to send some small stuff like my daughters toys and extra clothes but what about furniture or white goods as they call them.

I hope you have a good weekend and that the weather is still good in Baku?
Bronwen

Hi Bronwen,

No problem. Right, I think your husband will have a shipping allowance. My allowance was 500kg for mobilisation - that is a big allowance. For us, apart from clothes, we just brought things like books, cameras, jewellery, some framed pictures, in other words just personal stuff. The apartments you will be offered have everything: microwave ovens, toasters, in some cases dishwashers, washing machines, everything a family needs. As I said earlier, some apartments have wi-fi, satellite TV and things. But not all have air-conditioning and believe me you need that in the summer - it can reach 45oC here. If the apartment doesn't have wi-fi, there are any number of shops selling wi-fi modems (for about $100) and you can be on the 'net in minutes.

Let's put it this way, we crammed all our stuff into four large suitcases. Regarding clothes, bring warm clothes because winter is almost here. Temperatures begin to dip in late December and don't warm up until late March, early April. But summers here are great - you'll love to stroll down by the Boulevard on a warm and sunny Satuday/Sunday afternoon, stopping off at a cafe for a tea, coffee or something stronger. We usually popped into the Bulvar Mall (which is on the Boulevard) and did some shopping. It's on three/four floors with many eating places, cafes, boutiques, jewellers, and I think three cinemas.

The weather in Baku this weekend is scattered showers and about 12oC :-(  Hope this helps . . .

Best wishes,
Ian

Hi I'm a 40 year old Brit moving to Baku mid November 2012 any hints and tips on everyday life would be greatly appreciated.. Il be working in oil and gas industry providing telecoms and security equipment services..

Hello Giles,

Well, I presume you have read some of my other comments and posts about life in Baku. For your information, I have just left Azerbaijan and won't be going back. Why? I don't know how long you have worked overseas or if you are a seasoned expat (I was!) but it is too easy sometimes to pick out the negative sides of a country/city. I think I can boil my situation down to one element: residential life. Of course I signed up for this in the first place and I would be bringing my wife and daughter to Baku. As it happened my wife DID NOT like the place and my daughter was put off by the constant ogling/leering of young Azeris and even older!.

But as time went by it became apparent that those who didn't mind working in Azerbaijan were those who were on 28/28 rotation. They only had to 'stomach' the place for 28 days at a time. Don't get me wrong, Baku has some positive sides: great summers, cheap petrol (for those expats who dare to drive a car in the place), cheap utilities and medicines. My biggest problem with the place was traffic - it's absolutely horrendous. I decided never to even try to drive a car there such was the dangers that lay on every corner. Crossing many of the streets at 'zebra' crossings was hazardous. I was almost knocked down twice! I lost count of the number of times where Azeri drivers totally ignored zebra crossings. I could bang on about the power outages, gas pressures/cuts, awful drainage systems, water blockages/shortages, and a hundred other irritations. But Baku is like any other city in the world, it is what you make of it.

I will finish by declaring that Azerbaijan is an ex-Soviet country, which once was Communist, that is trying hard to morphose into a capitalist State. Unfortunately, this has led to widespread corruption and a culture of the haves and have-nots, those with cash to spend in the many designer clothes shops, and those forced to travel to the huge markets on the edge of the city to buy the cheapest of goods, food and everyday essentials at rock-bottom prices!

Cheers,
Ian

--tried to visit your blog but the link doesn't work.

A Samsung smart phone would be best. I never had trouble with my Nokia for the 23 months I lived in Azerbaijan. When it comes to renting a flat, I advise you to rent close to Fountain Square. Okay, the flats are more expensive (between $1,000 - $1,750 a month) and you can pay even more than that but it is safe area and you are close to all the best shops, pubs and you are next to the seaside.

I would advise, if you cannot afford this kind of money, then DO NOT rent a flat in a high-rise block. They are nightmares . . . the elevators are very poor and the utilities can be shut off for hours at a time.

Right now it is winter in Baku and you can expect 0degreesC between December and early February. You don't get much snow and there is plenty of sunshine too. But it is cold for about three months.

Hope this helps . . .

Hello. There are 3 main cellular companies, all of them support BB

Hey everyone thank you for the info shared , quite helpful. Can anyone recommend a good and trusted real estate websites? my Husband and I should be moving to Baku in a couple of months and we need to rent an apartment before going, can't seem to find a good one online.

thnx

Hi Amirah D - i suggest you post an advert in the Housing in Azerbaijan section please as it might help